Fillmore Noir 3
by YourFriendlyNeighborhoodGeek
Summary: Well since you demanded it... Ok so you didn't, Sue me. Here is next installment of my Fillmore Noir. Enjoy and Review.
1. Prologue

PROLOGUE:

"He's right in here. You have 10 minutes."

"Thank you, Doctor. That's all I need."

"Not my Maggie...not MY MAGGIE.... some kind of WHORE BUG..."

"Randall Weems! You have a visitor.

"He's all yours."

"Thank you, Doctor.

Randall.

Randall Randall Randall.

What has become of you? So many years of faithful service forgotten....and have you heard? They have DETWEILLER doing snitch work now..."

"rrRRRRRR!"

"Sh,sh,sh....calm yourself....It's Fillmore that's the problem, isn't it? He couldn't recognize your gifts...he locked you away...he took Maggie from you....he is cruel, isn't he Randall?"

"Y-Yes..."

"But I....I am kind, Randall."

"M-Maggie! MY Maggie! How did you...?"

"Shhhhhh. I am kind, Randall. I will be your friend. I will keep you, teach, feed you, dress you... I will look upon you without fear....

You made a promise to Maggie once, Randall... you promised her that everyday she'd get a bit of Fillmore and Ingrid to eat...I'd like to help you keep that promise."

"Yes....I must keep my promises...."

"That's right! That's a good boy...Don't worry, Randall. Soon, you and Maggie will be out of here. Far, far away from all these Mad Doctors...

Now, my time is almost up, I'm afraid. I'll send for you shortly, Randall. In the meantime, I don't think it would be wise to take any medication. Just hide it in the back of your throat, like we practiced. And, of course, let's keep our meeting here a little secret. The doctors...they're not all there, yes?"

"Yes..."

"That's just what I like to hear. That's a good lad."


	2. Chapter 2

Something I've noticed: some people, they just love making themselves miserable. A kid will look at a great new stepdad and go running to the guy who pounds the shit out of him for sneezing. A kid will get detention for a week, then decide their life is worthless and do something that gets them expelled.

A kid will mess up...then decide they want to ruin the life of the teacher who tried to help them every step of the way.

Sometimes it's hard to keep the faith, man.

"Fillmore...Please.... you KNOW I couldn't have done what they say I've done!" Miss Grotke had spent the better part of the last hour in the safety patrol office, begging for help. The situation didn't look good.

Now, Miss Grotke was our school's resident "cool teacher". The kind of person who actually loves what they do. the kind of person who actually cares about their students beyond what the state requires. The kind of person who life hasn't beaten down yet. I hope that this case doesn't do that.

Seems someone got ahold of her computer password and had been logging in as her to work around the school's site blockade. Problem is, that means each site that was visited popped up under her name: not a big deal when it's just some idiot checking Myspace... but then someone started going further. Heavy stuff. Bad stuff.

Stuff that could get Miss Grotke fired. And worse.

O'Farrell piped in with his usual helpful banter, a print-out of the sites Miss Grotke had allegedly visited in hand. "Holy Cow, Fillmore, have you SEEN this?" Danny, you idiot. Don't do this. She's RIGHT HERE.

Of course, he did. "Social sites, Torrents, a LOT of porn sites..." Miss Grotke began to sniffle. "...And what do you think 'DeviantART' is?"

Miss Grotke began to sob. Thanks, Danny.

After that little bit of 'help', Danny decided to chip in some more as I lead Miss Grotke out of the room, reassuring her every step of the way. "Should I start bringing in people who've used the password?"

Danny, you idiot. A) There's no way to tell who USED the password. B), Even if you find someone, they're not going to confess to stealing it. C) It's incredibly easy to hide behind how viral this is: someone could've taken it from a friend, given it to another friend, and on and on. You'd be at it all day.

All day...

"Get on it, champ." I tell Danny, before giving him a friendly slap on the back.

At least Ingrid and I will be able to get some real work done.


	3. Chapter 3

Ingrid catches my drift. "I'll pull up the files of everyone in Grotke's class. Maybe we can get something." I ask her to keep on it: it's about time for me to meet our guy on the inside.

TJ Detweiller. The kid with his finger on the pulse of the underbelly of X Middle School. "So," he starts. "I heard about what happened to Miss Grotke."

"Yeah. You got any leads? Anyone who might want to get back at her for something?"

TJ chuckled. "Man, if you don't know...you need to get out of that office more."

Smug Sonuvabitch. "Stow it. How much will this info cost me? 20 smoids or smoits or whatever? We look the other way while you 'borrow' equipment from the gym again?"

TJ shakes his head. "Forget it, man: this one's a freebie. Me and Grotke have history." I chuckle. TJ, you still have some surprises left in you. "C'mon, we can discuss this over lunch."

Now, there are a lot of bad things in X Middle School's Lunch Room. The deals going down. The highest concentration of perps I've ever gotten, all in one place.

That creepy lunchlady with the mole who always gives me extra jello and winks at me.

But none of that could compare to what TJ and I saw today.

The Ashleys. In matching Red Robin Uniforms.

They were gathered around Penny Proud, another one of "Folsom's kids"- kids who had their lives completely shifted because of our Ex-principal's plan to boost her status. Kids who had left their old schools, their old friends, everything they'd known, purely to follow a dream of "Academic Excellence" that turned stale.

To a group like the Red Robins, Penny Proud was like blood in the water.

"Break it up, ladies." I approach Penny. She's never been the strongest willed person I know: the last thing she needed was to get mixed up with a group like the Red Robins.

"Officer Fillmore! It's such a pleasure to see you! Would you care for some Red Robin taffy?" In a second, Ashley B. is shoving the stuff in my face.

Needless to say, I decline. After the last bit of trouble with the Red Robins, the school had the group completely restructured: all senior members were expelled, and now the group was carefully directed by a member of the faculty.

Problem is, that member of the faculty is Hans Rotwood. Guy gives off vibes that tell me trusting him with a group of middle school girls is like trusting a cougar to guard your baby.

TJ shoos the robins away as I check on Penny. "You OK?"

She nods. "Yeah...they were saying some stuff about the future, and the reddest robin, and...never mind."

I go on. "Ignore them. Unless you see them shaking down a band kid. Then come get me." I chuckle a little bit.

Penny laughs. Too loud and too long. It's more than a bit disturbing.

I decide to get out of there, hastily spewing some words about supporting your local safety patrol as I go to catch up with TJ.

"What's her deal?" I ask, making sure I'm out of earshot of Penny. (Take notes, Danny.)

TJ tells me what he's apparently been aiming to tell me all along: turns out Penny, in the rush to a new school, got mixed up in the wrong crowd. A bad crowd. A nasty crowd. A vengeful crowd.

Roger Klotz's crowd. More specifically, Roger himself.


	4. Chapter 4

Roger Klotz. Kid has a rap sheet a mile long. Vandalism. Petty theft. Fights. Of course, the school's never been able to get more than a few days suspension on him. Every few weeks Mommy makes a showing at some fundraiser, and suddenly Roger is the darling of X Middle School.

He should've been expelled months ago.

Of course, Mommy's money will only get you so far. Turns out Roger had been slacking off on his schoolwork. Badly. So much so that if he doesn't pass Grotke's class, it looks like he'll be held back.

Guess how he did on his last test?

Most embarrassing part was that it was a TAKE-HOME test. Open Book, Open notes. With opportunities for extra credit. And assistance from Miss Grotke if it was really needed. The only way that test could've gotten any easier would be if it had been handed to Roger already completed, with a mint taped to it.

And the kid STILL failed.

So, by now it was obvious that Roger had a motive...but something still didn't sit right with me. Planning something like this wasn't Roger's style: he's too impulsive. He's too violent. Mostly, he's too stupid. I'd have expected him to key her car and slash her tires rather than set out to ruin her life.

That's when TJ proposes a theory to me: What if Roger had someone completely under his thumb? Someone smarter than he could ever be? Someone who, by now, was slavishly devoted to him?

Ingrid hits me up on my walkie-talkie. She points me to the fact that not only was Roger failing Grotke's class...but Penny Proud was pulling an A in her Introduction to Technology course.

Disco.

Ingrid fills me in on what class Penny has. I tell TJ I'll take it from here and start heading over...when I hear a noise from the Girl's bathroom.

No, not a noise: a voice. A screechy, piercing, irritating voice.

Klotz.

"What did you tell them, Penny Per Pound?" What was this guy's thing with making up names? He called Doug Funnie-face. He called me Filler-face. He calls Ingrid Third....Ingrid Third.

In his defense, it's hard to come up with something there.

I wait it out, listening, hoping Roger is stupid enough to say something incriminating on school grounds.

A few seconds later, I wish I had stepped in.

"Baby, I swear, I didn't say anything..."

"Shut it!"

A smack. My heart sinks to my stomach. I'm about to bust through that door when Roger beats me to it. I barely manage to get out of the way before getting impromptu rhinoplasty courtesy of Dr. Composite Wood. Roger storms past, grumbling to himself. Luckily, he didn't see me.

I slowly peek into the Bathroom. Penny's sobbing, trying to hide the bruise on her face with paper towels for some reason.

Am I REALLY going to bust this girl? I finally manage to find my voice.

"Uh...hey." She turns, her face red. I'm honestly not sure how to proceed here. "Listen-"

She cuts me off. "He needs me." How did I know she was going to say that? I sigh. "Listen, you don't have to tell me anything, you don't have to justify anything, just...if you need to talk to someone, if you ever feel threatened, come talk to me, OK?"

There's an uncomfortable silence before I finally leave the room.


	5. Chapter 5

4 PM. The end of a long, draining, not very effective day, the November sun beginning to set. I finally finish packing up...when she's there.

Penny Proud, tears in her eyes. "I need you..." she whispers. In another second, she's jumped on top of me.

Holy Shit.

"I...I thought I could change him..." she sobs as I awkwardly try to push her off me. She just pulls me tighter to her, burying her face in my chest. "Please, Fillmore....I need you...I need you to rescue me...."

This is getting out of hand. I finally manage to push Penny back, grab her arms, and look her in the eye. "Penny, STOP.

Don't you see what you're doing? You're defining yourself by the people you're with. When you're with Roger, you try to 'change' him. You try to 'save' him. Now, you're trying to get me to 'save' you. I want to help you, Penny, but this is just making me part of the problem.

You can't define yourself by me, or Roger, or anybody. You have to ask yourself, 'Who is Penny Proud?'"

She stares at me a moment. Then at the ground. I can only hope I wasn't too harsh. "Penny...where is Roger right now?"

After a moment, she mumbles. "In the parking lot.

Waiting for Miss Grotke."

Snap.

Ingrid's standing by the door. "Let's move." We run out, leaving Penny with her thoughts.

"So...how long were you standing there?"

"Literally the entire time."

"Were you going to step in at all?"

"I was, but then you delivered that complete speech thing. Not bad for a guy who got a 'C' in psychology."

After that, I decide to focus on my running.

We barely make it to the parking lot before Grotke. Sure enough, Roger is there, crouched in the shadows, something, long, glinting, and sharp in his hands.

A switchblade.

"X MIDDLE SCHOOL SAFETY PATROL! DROP IT, KLOTZ!"

"Shit!" Roger shouts. And he's off like a rocket. This is off-topic, but I don't think there's EVER been a case I've had where the perp didn't run. I swear, I should just start whacking them in the head before I say anything.

Roger turns a corner. I take the lead, and follow him a second behind....

then everything goes slow motion. I'm aware of Klotz's horrible grin. I'm aware of his awful, gravelly laugh filling the air.

I'm aware that I'm chasing someone armed with a switchblade.


	6. Chapter 6

I barely manage to dodge in time, though a knife in the shoulder rather than the heart is still a knife.

I crumple to the ground, clutching my shoulder in a vain attempt to keep my fluids on the right side of my skin.

Roger towers over me, laughing. "Howzzat feel, Filler-face?"

I grunt in pain, and do the one thing I can do that seems appropriate at the moment.

I hiss, "Go to hell, Klotz."

Roger raises the knife high above my head, all the while doing that stupid laugh of his. I'm pissed that that laugh is going to be the last thing I hear.

Next thing I know, Roger's on the ground, spasming wildly and shrieking in pain.

"Tell me, how's THIS feel, Roger Klutz?" Ingrid asks, a tazer in her hand. "They say these things are a humane alternative. Grotke disagrees: she had one in her car for a rally this evening where she'd use it on herself. What do YOU think?"

Roger barely manages to choke out..."y-you...you w-WHORE!"

Guess he finally managed to come up with an insult for Ingrid.

Two hours later, Roger's arrested for two counts of attempted murder and I'm enjoying some brand new patchwork near my collarbone. Normally, I'd be happy to call that all she wrote were it not for the fact that Grotke still needed her name cleared.

An interview reveals something..troubling.

Roger never stole Grotke's password. His assault in the parking lot was supposed to be his revenge. I grill Penny afterwards, and she confirms it: a few quick warrants later and a few computers cracked apart, and I find out that no computer Penny could have touched between the time Roger got his failing grade and the first bogus website visit showed up was using Grotke's password.

It looked like that would be it for Miss Grotke...before ANOTHER circumstance happened. Raycliff stepped down as Vice-principal of X Middle School, naming Mr. Peter Prickly as his replacement. Prickly, it turns out, knows Grotke, and was willing to take her word for it.

All's well that ends well, right? Still... the case doesn't sit right with me. Who leaked Grotke's password? Why had Raycliff stepped down and chose Prickly as his successor?

To top it all off, guess who's been visiting Roger every day this week?

Somedays, man, it's hard to keep the faith.


	7. Epilogue

EPILOGUE:

"So...you leaked the password, and resigned, yes?"

"Yes. As of today, Prickly is the vice-principal of X Middle School.

I'm a bit surprised you were able to recruit him. Seems to me that he's a bit of a stickler for the straight and narrow."

"Oh, I DIDN'T, Mr. Raycliffe. Mr. Prickly is comepletely innocent and ignorant of any wrong doing."

"Then...why did you make the arrangements for him, specifically?"

"Because I've looked him up...I've glanced around.

My dear Uncle taught me something, Raycliff: the death of an innocent counts more than the death of someone as blackhearted as yourself."

"...What do you mean by that?

"...Lucky Duck Lake looks lovely tonight, wouldn't you agree?"

"Wait...what do you mean by the death of-"

"Did I ever tell you who my Grandfather was? Big time gangster back in the day. He had a technique he used on people he needed to make sure went away..."

"N-Now wait a minute-!"

"You aided and abetted fraud, attempted murder, and true murder, Mr. Raycliff.

You're dirty.

You need a bath."

"No...no, PLEASE!...I-!"

...Time Passes...

"Now then, now that that bit of business is taken care of, it's time we plan our next move, my friends...Oh, and I can see it so clearly...

Ingrid's legs kicking the air as I strangle the last bit of life from her body...Can you see it, Sonny?"

"Uh...sure boss. Whatever."

"And the mournful wail of Fillmore's parents, as they watch as I peel away the layers of their son's mind, before I peel the very flesh from his bone: can you hear it, Lawson?"

"Yeah boss, yeah. I can hear it..."

"And the look on each of their faces as I cut them down...Detweiller! Possible! Long!...

...Fiona Phillips...can you imagine it...

Annie?"

"Perfectly, sir...Nothing makes me happier..."

"And finally...the GRAND FINALE! Can you all imagine it?...No... not yet...but you will... everyone will..."

"(Uh, Sonny...what's he doing?)"

"(He's getting into one of his moods, Lawson. Play along.)"

"It's so, so stirring, I feel like purring!-"

"Uh...it's deeply pleasin', to be...th'..reason..."

"So many will be so sa-a-ad!

THREE CHEERS FOR TREACHERY!

It feels so GOOD to be...BAD!"


End file.
